Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – Etihad Cargo today adds to its growing list of specialised products with the launch of FreshForward, affirming its support for a cold chain industry that is also responsible for importing perishable goods to the UAE.

The new product ensures
items such as fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat and flowers
move
seamlessly across Etihad Cargo’s global network until they reach their final
destination. More specifically at the Abu Dhabi hub, it prioritises
the transfer of perishable cargo from the aircraft into a dedicated centre, and
subsequently onto reefer trucks to be delivered directly to the customer’s
doorstep anywhere in the UAE.

This marks a milestone
in the expansion of Etihad’s value chain offering to include last-mile delivery
in its home market for select products, itself a key pillar of Etihad’s
refreshed strategy to expand services beyond its conventional
airport-to-airport model.

Abdulla Mohamed Shadid,
Etihad Airways Managing Director Cargo and Logistics, said: “Etihad Cargo plays
a vital role in stimulating the UAE’s imports and exports via our Abu Dhabi
hub, and today we are delighted to introduce yet another product that will act
as a further catalyst to this. Safe, efficient and timely transport is critical
for the UAE’s major importers of fresh produce including supermarket chains,
F&B wholesalers, restaurants and florists.”

Etihad Cargo
transported over 90,000 tons of perishables over the last 12 months. Fruits and
vegetables made up more than 37% of the total, whilst meat (15,000 tons), flowers
(19,000 tons) and fish (8,000 tons) were the other major categories carried by
Etihad.

Etihad’s
fleet of 109 narrow-body, wide-body and freighter aircraft fly to over 90
destinations globally, and are readily configured for perishable cargo
compatibility, applying the highest levels of quality controls.

The
Etihad Cargo network connects the UAE with key export markets globally, and
also provides seamless transfer in Abu Dhabi for a global cold chain industry
that boasts South American flowers, Indian mangoes and Australian lamb as some
of its key products.

Customers will continue
to benefit from Etihad Cargo’s established track and trace capabilities,
adaptive temperature control on freighter and passenger aircraft, cold chain
storage at the hub, dry-ice packing, thermal blankets and cool dollies, all but
a few of the elements available under this newly branded product.

FreshForward
is just the latest release in Etihad Cargo’s revised commercial offering to increasingly
address premium product segments. Recent launches of new products such as FlightValet
(automotive), FlyCulture (arts and music) and now FreshForward (cold chain),
have been designed to specifically meet the unique attributes of those
industries.